Wanting Reed (Break Me) BOOK 2 (11 page)

“I’d like that.”

“Piper Brody and Link Stevenson. Here’s my number,” she says as she scribbles on a piece of paper and hands it to me. “And look us up on Facebook. All the deets are posted for his next gig.” She nudges me with her forearm as they pass me on the way to the office.

“All right,” I say, thinking I may need to make a whole new bunch of friends since I already lost the ones I had. They seem kind of cool and run in a different circle than I was used to when I first moved to Boston. I’m thinking if I take this job tonight at the bar, I’m going to be exposing myself to a tougher crowd altogether. There will be no more screaming kids to handle, but rather some drunk ass motherfuckers to manhandle, which is fine by me. I haven’t seen the place yet, but knowing Luke’s tastes, it’s gonna be some kind of fucking dive.

“Are you decent?” Tyler calls out. I hear the door slam and his feet cross the hardwood floors, probably on his way to the kitchen to get the last of the apple pie. My rule about not giving a key was short-lived or never really happened. It’s only been a week, and he’s already made himself at home. I’ve complained to Tyler that giving him a spare key was a bad idea, but he doesn’t think so. He said he needs one in case of emergencies, but he did not really explain what he meant by emergencies. “Are you ready or what?”

“Holy shit, T. You’re early,” I reply as I button my jeans and tuck in my T-shirt. I take one last glance at myself in the mirror and pull back my hair into a ponytail. The plan is to register for classes today, so Tyler took the morning off from the center to go with me. He’s standing in my kitchen, exactly where I thought he would be, sticking a fork into the middle of the apple pie without cutting a slice or using a plate. “I’m glad you feel comfortable enough to eat my food like that.”

“Shit, you know you bought this specifically for me.” He smirks as he shoves a forkful of apple pie into his mouth. He then closes his eyes and moans with pleasure. I’m instantly reminded of the kiss we shared the other day and I don’t know why. After kissing, I thought things would be different, but thankfully, they’re not. Since Reed has left and my breakup with Cane, I have relied more heavily on Tyler and everything I feared that would ruin our friendship hasn’t occurred. It was not just a kiss, but crossing that line I drew in the sand. I wonder now if I should have erased it years ago.

Whasome?” he asks with a mouthful of pie.

“Someone is lacking in the manners department.” I cringe as I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and stand in front of him. He swallows, places the pie onto the counter and gestures for the water bottle. “God, I’ve become your maid in my own apartment,” I reply as I twist off the cap and hand him the bottle. He takes a sip and throws me a mischievous look that travels from my toes, hovers at my lips and then rests on my eyes.

“You don’t want to know what I’m thinking right now, do you?” He bites his lip and speaks before I can answer. “Ya know those black and white maid outfits? I think you’d be one sexy little maid.” He smirks, eyeing me without shame.

“Ugh.” I step away from him, but he grabs me. He places his arms on either side of me, trapping me against the counter. My body becomes rigid and blood rushes to my head.

“Role playing is fun. You should try it sometime.” The look on his face tells me who he has in mind for his partner, and I’m jolted by his forwardness.

“Oh, is it?” I reply, matching his boldness. I can’t help but imagine what Tyler has done with other girls, and I lower my eyes and blush thinking about it. He lifts my chin and stares into my eyes.

“Ya know what else I know?” He smiles down at me and licks his lips as his eyes dance over my lips. My heart begins to beat uncontrollably in my chest; I want him to kiss me again. Just one kiss.

“What’s that?” My voice comes out breathy and soft.

“Kissing burns exactly six point four calories per minute.” He chuckles with his eyes still on my lips. “Want to work out?” He smiles provocatively as he lifts his eyebrow.

“You need the kiss after eating that pie, not me.” Well, I don’t need it, but I want it.

“So, does that mean you’ll help me burn those calories?” He leans in a little closer. “All this temptation in such a small space. Two of my favorite things right in front of me, and they both taste so delicious.”

“Well, if we do the calculations, that apple pie is about three hundred calories, so that would mean,” I mockingly count on my fingers, “that we’d have to kiss for fifteen minutes.” I hint.

“I’m not good at math, but I’m okay with that. How about you?” The corners of his mouth lift into a sexy smile.

“How about half now and half later?” I propose.

“I think I can agree to that,” he whispers as he leans in closer. His lips are mere inches from mine.

“Who’s keeping track?” As I look at him, everything we’ve been through over the years lingers around me like a warm blanket. This feels right for some reason on so many levels. I’m not sure how far I want to take this, but at this moment, it’s what I want.

“Can we can go a little over? I need to stay in shape for baseball.”

“You’re wasting time with all this talking.” Grasping the back of his neck, I pull his lips on top of mine.

“Damn, we’re late.” I frown, noticing that the registrar’s office is filled with waiting students.

“Don’t look at me.” Tyler grins while shrugging his shoulders. “You could have said no.” He points out.

I could have, but there is no way I can resist his sweet kisses. I see Tyler in a way I’ve never seen him before, which makes me love him even more.

“Well, you could have stopped running your mouth,” I counter, looping my arm with his.

“I’m not gonna argue about it. It was worth it to me.” He smiles, looking down at me.

“Now we’re being selfish. I should punish you.”

“I like the sound of that.” He wiggles his eyebrows and squeezes me closer to him as we walk into the office. “You’re not gonna make me wait in the office here with you?”

“I would never think of it,” I say.

“Cool. I’m going to get some coffee. This is way too early for me, and I had a late night,” Tyler informs me before heading out the door. “Do you want anything?”

“No, just make sure you and your Jeep stay close, so I can make a quick escape.”

“Okay,” he says as he turns to leave. “Are you sure? Nothing?”

“I’m fine.” I smile. “Now go before you annoy the crap out of me.”

“Damn, that’s what I get for being nice. I’m outta here.” He frowns and kisses me on the cheek as he spins to leave.

“I’ll text you,” I call out as he jogs down the hall.

“I know you will.” He calls out as he glances over his shoulder.

I stick my tongue out at him and shoo him away. God, I love him.

I walk up to the desk and write my name on the sign-in sheet. As I scan the crowded room for an available seat, I notice a girl with long black hair tapping her pen on her notebook and smiling at me. She nudges her friend who’s slouched in his chair with his long legs stretched out in front of him. He’s listening to his iPod with his eyes closed. He leisurely peeks over at her as he runs his hand through his thick blonde hair and grunts “what”. She nods in my direction as he looks over and agilely rises from his chair.

“You need a seat?” she sings.

“No, I’m okay.”

“Don’t worry. Link was just leaving.” She assures me as her friend picks up his guitar and swings it over his shoulder.

“I’ll be around.” He frowns as he motions to leave.

“Don’t be a sour puss,” she replies playfully.

“I was having an amazing dream,” he moans mockingly.

“About Shakira again?” She laughs.

“You know I love the way she moves those hips.” He bites his lip, and his green eyes glint dangerously. “You need to take those belly dancing classes I’ve been talking about.” He winks.

Several of the students overhear the conversation and glance over at Link who shamelessly smiles back. “Her music isn’t so bad either,” he adds.

“We’ll see how you like it when these hips don’t lie down next to you,” she responds.

“Ahh, you can’t get enough of me, baby,” he murmurs as he leans down to kiss her on the forehead.

“Whatever.” She smirks.

“Give me a jingle when you get outta here.” He chuckles. Shrugging his shoulders, he grips the strap of his guitar as he walks out the door.

“I’m sorry about that,” she says as she grabs her black hair and pulls it back into a bun, exposing her perfect cheekbones.

“No biggie,” I reply as I thank her for the seat. Sitting down next to her, I pull out my applications for medical school. I don’t really pay much attention to what’s written on the pages because I’ve looked over them millions of times and memorized every damn question and answer.

“Medical school?”

Smiling, I turn to the sweet, angelic voice and nod my head. “Yep.”

“Wow! You’re looking at a few more years of school.” She exclaims

I wanted to become a doctor from the age of four when my dad took me to the hospital to visit Jace after he was born. I was fascinated with everything the doctor did and how the staff took care of my mother who was sick after giving birth. The doctor let me play with his stethoscope, allowing me to listen to Jace’s heartbeat. The doctor laughed when I told him Jace’s heart must be as big as an elephant’s because it was so loud. I saw what he did for my family, and I wanted to be able to do the same for others.

I notice her notebook is covered with music notes and several verses are written on the page with the words “Love’s Broken” outlined at the top. It’s not hard to surmise that she’s a music major based on that and her friend Link. The bracelets on her wrist clink together as she returns to humming and tapping her pen on her notebook.

“By the way, I’m Elle,” I speak over the tapping.

“Piper,” she reveals as she writes down a few words. “So, what kind of music do you listen to?”

“Um...hmm...” I mumble. “Pretty much anything, but I really love live music and there is some top forty stuff on the radio I can deal with.”

“You should check out our band, Crimzen. I write their songs, sing backup sometimes and date Link, the gentleman that just gave up his seat for you,” she bubbles as she scribbles his name at the top of the page in her notebook.

“Oh, yeah?” I ask. “Nick Moon, right?”

“Yeah.” She snaps her neck in my direction. “How do you know him? You don’t look like the type.”

“Well, I like all kinds of music, and I met Nick about a month ago.”

“Really? How? Where? When? It’s hard to catch him.”

“Through a friend,” I reply as I lower my head. I scan the pages in front of me, remembering that night at Reed’s apartment. It was the beginning of everything, and now there’s nothing.

“Hello?” She taps me on the shoulder. “Does your friend have a name? Ahh... forget it. It doesn’t matter,” she sings as she scribbles a couple more sentences in her notebook. “Anyways, Nick has a major ego, but then, all of them do. They’re fun guys. You’ll like them.”

“Where do you play?” I ask, folding the papers in my hand.

“Anywhere and anyone who will book us,” she exclaims. “You should take my number. I’m all about making new friends, and of course, promoting the band.”

Right away I can tell Piper’s someone I can get along with, so I give her my number. She eagerly punches it into her phone and immediately sends me a text.

“There, now you have mine. You can call me anytime if you want,” she quips as the receptionist behind the counter calls her name. As she stands, she picks up her backpack and throws it over her thin shoulder. “Well, don’t be a stranger. I promise I won’t be,” she says, gazing down at me with a smile.

“I won’t.”

“Goody,” she replies. “Because I think we’re gonna have fun.”

What could be better than starting over than hanging out with a singer and her tattoo-covered rocker boyfriend and his rocker band mates? This should be a fun and very interesting beginning to my new life.